One
by Jalee
Summary: One-shot. In the centuries and decades after the war, children still learn about the heros of the Gundam War. Trigger Challenge 2.


**One**

Trigger Challenge #2: "Somebody save me. Somebody take me away from this awful place..."

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters don't belong to me. (God, now I remember how much I hate disclaimers. sweatdrop)

Warnings: Um... Confusion ahoy. :D

. . .

"The struggles between Earth and its colonies were harsh and bitter..."  
  
I tuned the teacher out and logged onto YNtex on my laptop. Immediately, I was bombarded by messages from the many students in the class. I glanced through them all and closed all but one from my buddy, Randy.  
  
_rndj says:_  
  
'Yo, man, this class sucks!'  
  
Chuckling slightly under my breath, I looked over to where he was across the room and grinned. I changed my screen name before replying.  
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says:_  
  
'That's a given, man. History is so damned boring!'  
  
_rndj says:_  
  
'moans I'll bet Kutcher deliberately made her lessons boring just so we'd get a low mark. That is so her!'  
  
I grinned again, looking up at the teacher. She was speaking in monotone, her voice dull enough to put us to sleep.  
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says:_  
  
'fake accent You're getting sleepy... You're getting very sleepy...'   
  
_rndj says: _  
  
'laughs Thankfully, we won't have to take history after this year. I think I've learnt enough to fill half my brain. =S'   
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says: _  
  
'snickers Of which is small enough in the first place.'   
  
_rndj says: _  
  
'roll eyes ha ha...'   
  
I grinned at the screen and was about to reply when something the teacher said caught my attention.   
  
"...were the main defence that the colonies put up."   
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says: _  
  
'Yo. What's she talking 'bout now?'   
  
_rndj: _  
  
'The Mecha Wars.'   
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says: _  
  
'The Eve Wars?'   
  
_rndj: _  
  
'Think so...'   
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says: _  
  
'Meh... whatever.'   
  
"Please turn to Section D in your catalogues."   
  
Minimizing the conversation window, I opened the catalogue that I'd downloaded and went to the section. I raised an eyebrow when I saw the images in the first page. They were photos of mobile suits in action; in some, it seemed as if dozens of mobile suits were ganging up on a single one.   
  
_rndj: _  
  
'This... is cool.'   
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says: _  
  
'Were these the infamous Gundams, then?'   
  
_rndj: _  
  
'Yeeeep. That one with the wings is awesome.'   
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says: _  
  
'Naw, man. A mecha with wings? That's too cliche. The black one looks the best.'   
  
"...were feared throughout the world. The first models of Mobile Dolls were created just to fight these monstrous suits, but they were never able to defeat them. The Gundam pilots themselves were highly trained and dangerous and were hunted down as terrorists. However, no eye-witnesses have ever survived to give us descriptions of these terrorists."   
  
I vaguely wondered just who these soldiers were. They'd probably had to train for years to get good enough to pilot the Gundams as well as fight hordes of mobile suits. It was a wonder they survived as long as they did, actually.   
  
"Please scroll to page twenty-three and follow along as I read."   
  
I sighed when I saw that the page was full of tiny text, but followed along anyway.   
  
"...Darlian of the Earth Sphere United Nation had been noted to have once said, 'These men were no more terrorists than any other man on Earth was. They were brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives to realize the ideals of the people of the colonies. In the end, all they wanted was peace. Why is that so hard to accept?" After her 15-month tour throughout the Earth and its colonies, she was able to convince the people to support the building of a memorial for the famous Gundams and for their pilots."   
  
I raised an eyebrow; that woman made it sound as if the Gundam pilots were heroes. Maybe they were; I mean, if all they were after was peace, then they couldn't have been that bad, could they? If we look at it from their point of view, maybe the whole war would have been different.   
  
_rndj: _  
  
'That is one dedicated chick. Do you think she was having an affair with one of the pilots? wink'   
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says: _  
  
'snort Doubt it.'   
  
_rndj: _  
  
'Why? It could've been possible.'   
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says: _  
  
'I don't know... It's just a feeling I have. Besides, she's part of the government.'   
  
_rndj: _  
  
'Well, she must've known them at least. I mean, why else would she see them as good guys when everyone else was after them?'   
  
_somebody save me; somebody take me away from this awful place! says: _  
  
"Don't know...'   
  
It must have been harsh, having to live with the fact that everyone is against you. There would've been nobody that you could trust except for the other four pilots. You had to hide your face from public, afraid that someone would recognize you when you were vulnerable. You couldn't make friends; you couldn't be yourself. That must have been hard.   
  
I started feeling a little bit of pity for these men. What could have possibly forced them to give up their former lives just to fight a hopeless battle? How could they find the strength to fight on day after day, week after week?   
  
I yawned, rubbing my eyes. The combination of the teacher's monotonous voice and the tiny text was making me sleepy. Propping my chin up on my palm, I yawned again and closed my eyes.

. . .

On the earth, thousands of mobile suits rushed to surround a large building, as if ants climbing on and over one another to get to the prize. Carriers flew in from all directions, dropping even more suits into the area. A sense of alarm grew dangerously in me; what sort of enemy required this much defence?  
  
Then, suddenly, I knew.   
  
"Everybody, retreat." I heard the calm, monotonous voice clearly despite the storm of noise raging around me.   
  
"What!" an American-accented voice bit out in shock. "Why?"   
  
"I can cause an explosion big enough to wipe out all these suits."   
  
The ocean was getting violent. Its tides were getting higher and higher and faster and faster and it was going to attack; it was going to attack all the fishermen and it was going to kill them with one great, enormous tsunami and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it, because the fishermen deserved to die; they deserved to be swept away in one big wave which would leave no trace of them behind.   
  
"No! Are you crazy?"   
  
The sun peered out from behind the clouds. It tried to burn away the dark tides with its rays, but it wasn't strong enough.   
  
"No, but I know that it's the only way. Everybody, leave."   
  
The ocean forced its way on, rolling its emotions into the eventual tsunami.   
  
"You will not do this!" a strong, commanding voice suddenly shouted. "As long as I'm alive, I will not give up fighting!"   
  
Lightning suddenly struck, the following thunder booming throughout the sky as if issuing a challenge to the tides that were rolling and slapping the air.   
  
"We are outnumbered," the first, calm voice said. "It's senseless to keep on fighting."   
  
"There must be another way!" a new voice said, its anxiety reverberating through me as well.   
  
A flock of birds sped out over the ocean, calling out loudly and shrilly to the fishermen, who were oblivious to their warnings.   
  
"If there was, we would've used it. As it is, there isn't another way; this is the way it has to be." The first voice was filled with determination, even though it had a slight echo of regret.   
  
"This can not be the end," a fifth voice quietly said.   
  
The wind blew against the ocean, trying to force it back, but it wasn't nearly as strong as the waves.   
  
"It can, and it will. Everybody leave."   
  
The waves grew enormously tall, slapping dangerously in warning against the fishermen's boats. However, the fishermen were too busy greedily netting fish to notice.   
  
"We've been through so much together. I won't let you go through with this!" the strong, angry said. Suddenly, in my mind's eye, a picture of a man with dark eyes and an angry expression was conjured up. "Five years; I've known you five years. I know that you're stronger than this. I know that you don't want to give up your inner fire. Find a way to beat them!"   
  
The lightning cracked into the earth and darkened the sky. The thunder was strong enough to shake the ocean floor.   
  
"I can't." The calm voice was no longer so calm. It was broken. "I can't. I don't know how."   
  
The waves hesitated slightly, suddenly breaking apart.   
  
"It's okay," the American one said softly, resignation in his voice. "It's okay, buddy. If even you think that this is the only way, then it probably is. I trust you, and I'll stick with you no matter what.   
  
The sun lost its burning rays as it became slowly covered by clouds.   
  
"You're right," the calm, unobtrusive voice said. "This is the only way. But I will not leave; I'm staying." A calm face floated through my mind, its hair obscuring one eye.   
  
The winds stopped. A few moments later, it picked up again, blowing with the ocean this time, instead of against it.   
  
"No, you guys will-"   
  
"We will not leave you!" the soft, kind voice said. "If this is the only way, then I will stick with it as well."   
  
The birds stopped blasting out their warnings. They drifted up higher into the sky, becoming witnesses to the ocean's soon-to-be destruction.   
  
"Dammit," the angry voice swore. "I hate for it to end like this, but if it must..."   
  
The lightning struck again, this time close to the fishermen. They jumped with fright and covered their ears as thunder shook the whole sky.   
  
"You guys don't have to stick around. I can do it by myself."   
  
"But we're a team," the stern, angry voice said. "We will not leave you."   
  
"No, we're not just a team," the kind voice interjected. "We're a family." A sweet looking blonde was smiling in my mind's eye, and my heart squeezed painfully at its sorrowful expression.   
  
"If one dies, we all die," the one with the black eyes said.   
  
"If one breaks, we all break," the American one said with determination.   
  
"We are one mind," the blonde one said.   
  
"We are one soul," the one with the uni-bang said.   
  
"We are one," the first pilot said in resolve, a small smile gracing his strong features.   
  
Suddenly, the tsunami roared to its final height and slammed down, bringing the world down with it.

. . .

"Greg!"   
  
I startled awake, jumping as I saw the teacher glare at me. People started laughing around me, and I blushed at having been caught sleeping.   
  
"Well, seeing as to how interested you are, please continue reading from where I left off," the teacher sneered.   
  
I looked at my laptop, growing red again when I realized I didn't know what page we were on.   
  
_rndj: _   
  
'Page forty, second paragraph.'   
  
Exhaling in relief, I scrolled to the page and started reading.   
  
"The wars were brought to an end fours years after its start. In the final battle, the Gundams were overwhelmed by the opposing force and were forced to either surrender or be destroyed. In a moment that changed the history of men forever, the pilots acted as one and fired all their missiles at once, self-destructing a moment later in the ultimate sacrifice. There were no survivors."   
  
The room was suddenly silent. I felt my breath hitch as I fought the sorrow building up in me. They all died...   
  
Suddenly, the bell rang, causing all of us to jump in our seats. Everyone scrambled to get out of class quickly. I stood up on unsteady legs and started stuffing my laptop into my bag, my mind in turmoil.   
  
"Hey," Randy said, coming up behind me and tugging my braid. "Congratulations for falling asleep."   
  
I gave him an unsteady smile as he passed me and headed out of the room. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and made to follow.   
  
Suddenly, a figure passing in the hallway caught my eye, and I knew - I knew - that it was him. It couldn't be anyone else. My eyes grew wide and I could barely whisper as my heart pounded into my throat.   
  
"Heero."

The End

. . .


End file.
